Of Dragons and Supers
by orcadarwin
Summary: Charlie finds a girl in the forest. Is she magical or muggle? Ava is just a girl looking for her father. Will she find him?
1. Part 1

Author's note : I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated with it. I only own the character of Ava.

Well, apparently, I have taken an idea from the show Heroes. I don't own them, either. This is not a crossover, no characters from Heroes will be in this story, just the super power thing.

Well, it seems that Harry has stepped aside and let Charlie and Ava come forward to tell their story. Hope it's good. I'm not sure if anyone likes my stories, as I have only gotten about 5 reviews in the 3 stories I've written. I only hope someone out there likes them.

**Of Dragons and Supers**

The leaves rustled softly as she walked in the moonlight, stepping carefully so as not to fall over a root or rock. Sighing, she almost wished she hadn't started on this journey. It seemed hopeless, she felt like she would never find him. She didn't even know what she would say to him if she did find him. It seemed unlikely that he was hiding out here, deep in the forest in Romania, but this was the best lead she had. Carefully stepping around a huge rock stuck in the earth, she suddenly came face to face with a burst of fire. Startled, she lost her balance and fell backwards, tripping over the rock she had just stepped around. Feeling the pain in her leg, she knew that she had broken her leg, but that wasn't important right now. Where had that flame come from? Wildly looking around, she heard a muttered curse from somewhere to her left. Wiping her head to the left, she stared through the dark, trying to see who was there.

Stepping out of the shadows into the moonlight was a man with longish hair. She couldn't tell the color, as it was dark here in the forest. He was holding something in his hand out in front of him, looking up in the trees. "Who are you?" she asked.

Meeting with silence, she tried again, "Did you shoot that flame at me?"

"Shh." He whispered.

"Are you going to kill me?" she continued.

"Hush!" he hissed at her.

"Why are you staring up into the trees? What's up there?" she asked.

Having reached her side, he suddenly bent down and forcefully pressed his lips to hers. Pulling back slightly, he hissed, "Will you please shut up! I've got him cornered."

Incredulous, she stammered quietly, seeing the murderous look in his eye. He stood noiselessly and pointed his hand up to a nearby tree limb. She heard the rush of wings as something took flight. "Damn! Come back here, you stupid dragon." He said.

Eyes wide, "D-Dragon? Did you say dragon? Breathing fire, scaly, flying, that kind of dragon?" she asked.

"What other kind of dragon is there?" he answered, rolling his eyes. Man, she was annoying.

Remembering him kissing her, "Who do you think you are, putting your hands on me like that?" she admonished.

"It was the only way to shut you up so that I could catch him. You have an annoying way of not doing what you are told." He answered.

Mouth opening and then closing, thinking of a retort, she shifted her position on the ground.

"What are you doing out here all alone?" he continued.

"I'm not alone, you're here." She said.

"Before I got here, you were alone. Why are you wondering around the forest, alone, in the dark?" he said, rolling his eyes again. _So annoying._

"I'm looking for someone. I was told that he was hiding out in this forest." She told him.

"You really think that you're going to find someone in the dark? That's real smart." Smirking, he turned to look around.

"Day, night, it's no different to me." She said, and tried to get up. Wincing in pain, she flopped back down, holding her left thigh. She looked down at her leg and saw that the bone was poking out through the skin just below her knee. He saw it at the same time as she did.

Swearing again, "It's broken." He said.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." She retorted, wincing as she tried to straighten it out.

_'Smartass'_ he thought to himself. "No, don't move it. Keep still, I'll be right back." He said and ventured into the forest a little ways. He was back within a minute with a few thick sticks. Kneeling down next to her, "I'm going to put a splint on it. My village is just ahead, not too far, we can make it by morning. There's a healer there, he can fix it for you." He said as he looked around for something to lash the splint on to her leg. Finding nothing, he removed his shirt. Ripping it into strips, he began to fasten the sticks to her leg to keep it still. After tying the last strip, he rocked back on his heels, thinking. "You know what, there's no way you can walk all the way to the village, and I can't carry you." He stated, still thinking, apparently arguing with himself.

_'Disapparate.' He said. 'But she may be muggle and I can't reveal magic to a muggle.' He argued. 'It's the only way to get her to the village and get back to hunting that dragon down.' 'True. I can't take her to the village, though. So, where?' 'The Burrow. Call Hermione.'_

Nodding to himself, he looked at her. He could tell that she was in pain. "Oh, bloody hell. I don't have time for this." He said and took her hand in his. Eyeing him curiously, she wondered what he was doing. Before getting a chance to ask, he turned slightly and she was sucked into an abyss. She felt as if a tremendous weight was pressing on her lungs. Mere seconds later, they arrived in a backyard. She opened her eyes as a plump red-haired woman came out the back down of the shabby house.

"Charlie? What in the world?" she asked the man.

"Found her in the woods while I was tracking a dragon. Her leg's broken. This is the only place I could think to bring her. I think she's muggle."

"Now, wait just a minute. You know nothing about me. What gives you the right to insult me and take control?" the girl asked incredulously.

The woman chuckled and pulled a stick of some kind out of her pocket. The girl eyed her warily as the man beside her swore again. Before she knew it, the girl was somehow floating in mid-air and moving towards the house. Speechless, she just stared around with a wild look in her eye. "I'll call Hermione." The man said and led the way into the house. The girl was placed on the couch, as he stuck his head in a fire of green flames. He pulled his head out to find the older woman sternly looking at him.

"What was I supposed to do, mum? Leave her there in the forest while a dragon is on the loose?" he said.

With a sigh, "I suppose not, Charlie, but you know you've broken all kinds of laws by bringing her here."

"I know, and I'll deal with all that later. Right now, I have to find this dragon. He's already set a couple of villages on fire. I almost had him when I ran across her." He said with a nasty glance over his shoulder at the girl on the couch.

Suddenly, a roar came from the fire. Green flames shot up and a young woman stepped out, carrying a medical bag. The girl on the couch, shouting in alarm. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Magic." The boy called Charlie answered. The girl looked at him, as if for the first time. He had red hair, just like his mother and a rough look about him. He was muscular, owing to his work with dragons, and his face held a look that said he had seen way too much for his age.

The woman who stepped out of the fire walked towards the girl on the couch, slowly. "I'm Hermione Granger-Weasley, and I'm a healer. Is it alright if I take a look at your leg?" she said.

The girl nodded, mouth open, not really knowing what to say.

"What's your name, dear?" the older woman asked.

Finding her voice, "Ava. Ava Kyker." She replied.

Hermione was removing the splint on her leg, gingerly, trying not to hurt her any more than she had to. "You make a good splint, Charlie. Why not just heal it yourself?" she said with a smile.

"Aw, hell, Hermione, you know my healing spells suck. That's what we have you around for." He said and dodged his mother's backhand at his curing.

Hermione examined Ava's leg with a furrowed brow. Shaking her head she finally spoke after several long moments, "This leg isn't broken."

Ava sat up with a start, and Charlie barged over to the couch. "I swear, Hermione, it was broken. The bone was sticking out of the skin, I saw it. See the blood."

"Yes, Charlie, I see the blood, but the leg is not broken now. Are you sure you didn't use a healing spell?" she looked up at him.

Ava was quiet, a worried look passing over her face. "Yes, I'm sure, Hermione. I couldn't heal it, even if I tried." He answered. Looking up at Ava, "Are you a witch?" he asked.

"What?! No, I'm not a witch! How dare you?!" she exclaimed.

Running a hand over his face, he muttered, "I don't have time for this."

"Fine. No one asked you to help me. No one asked you to drag me into an abyss and use magic to get me here to who knows where. I didn't ask you to take any of your precious time to bring me here." She said, standing up and poked her finger into his chest.

Hermione grinned, and the older woman looked on in shock. Charlie rubbed the place on his chest where Ava had poked him several times. With a laugh and loud crack, he disappeared. "Where'd he go? I wasn't finished with him yet." Ava said as Hermione laughed out loud. Ava sat back down on the couch. "Where am I, and how do I get back to that forest?" she asked.

Before either of the other women could answer, an enormous orange cat came running into the room and jumped up on the back of the couch. Walking over to Ava, he reached out a claw and raked it across her face. "CROOKSHANKS! NO!" Hermione yelled. The cat leapt back down and walked out of the room. Hermione and the older woman looked back at Ava. Hermione already reaching into her medical bag to extract something, she halted, a surprised expression on her face.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Fix it. I know there are scratches there, I can feel the sting." Ava said to her. Hermione looked at the older woman, mouth open, not speaking. "What? What's the matter?"

"Accio mirror." The older woman whispered, and a mirror came flying in to the room. Ava sucked in a breath at this. Walking towards her slowly, the woman held up the mirror so that Ava could see her own face. Looking in to the mirror, she examined her face. There were no scratches there, but how could that be. That cat had scratched her cheek, she felt the sting of the scratches.

Hermione was muttering to herself, "No, it can't be, that's a myth." She said.

"What's a myth?" the older woman asked. Hermione looked up at her and then ran out of the room. She was back within 5 seconds, carrying a tattered book. Flipping through the pages, she stopped and read to herself, lips moving but no sound coming out. Handing the book to the older woman, "Look, Molly. Read about regeneration."

The older woman read the page and then they both looked up at Ava. "How can that be?" she asked, quietly.

Hermione shook her head. Walking slowly over to Ava, she pulled a scalpel out of her medical bag. Before Ava knew what was happening, Hermione had sliced her arm. "What the hell? What's that for?" she yelped.

"Just watch." Hermione said softly. All 3 watched the cut on Ava's arm. After a few seconds, it began to heal itself. Ava's eyes widened to the point of almost popping out of her head.

"What have you all done to me?" she croaked.

"We didn't do anything to you. My guess is that you were born this way." A loud crack was heard and Charlie appeared beside his mother. "You are a regenerator."

"So, she is a witch, I was right." Charlie spoke, startling the women.

Hermione shook her head, "No, regeneration is not a witch or wizard power. It's a super power." She said. "I thought it was just a myth, though."

"A super power?" Ava and Charlie spoke at the same time.

"You mean like Superman or Wonder Woman?" Ava asked.

"Well, yeah, I suppose so, although they are comic book characters." Hermione laughed. "There are myths about people actually possessing super powers, like regeneration and hearing people's thoughts. There's a whole list of them, people able to fly with no assistance, people able to find other people anywhere in the world, things like that. I guess it's not as much of a myth as I thought."

Ava stared at her. "You appeared out of a fire, he can appear and disappear at will, she can levitate people and move them, and you don't believe in super powers?"

Charlie and Hermione laughed. "We are magical people, Ava. Witches and wizards." Molly told her. "We use wands to perform our magic."

"Witches and wizards." Ava said, nodding her head slightly. "This day couldn't get any stranger." She muttered and sank back into the couch, resting her head on the back.

"Well, I'll just head back to work now." Hermione said, packing up her bag. She walked to the fireplace, but before she could step in, the green flames flared up and a dark-haired man with glasses stepped out.

"Molly, have you seen Remus' wand? I wanted to see if Teddy would be able to use it." He said, not noticing the strange lady on the couch. "Hey, Hermione." He stated, as if seeing her here was a normal thing. Ava eyed him as he walked over to Molly and Charlie. Reaching out a hand to Charlie, "Hey, Charlie, what are you doing here?"

"I'm not sure, honestly. I should be out tracking down this dragon, but I ran across Ava and brought her here to Hermione." He answered.

The new arrival turned to see Ava sitting on the couch watching him. "Oh, hello. I'm Harry." He said, nodding to her. Turning back to Molly, "So, have you seen it? I was hoping maybe we left it here the other night after the remembering service."

Molly shook her head, "No, Harry, dear, I haven't seen it. It was a beautiful service, wasn't it. Remus and Sirius would have loved it."

"Remus? Remus Lupin?" came a soft voice from the couch. The others in the room all turned in unison to her, gaping.

Hermione was the first to speak, "Yes, do you know him?"

Ava nodded, "I think so. If it's the same person, he's the one I've been searching for the past 3 years. He's my father."

Harry and Hermione stared at each other. Charlie cleared his throat, "You're father." He said. "You've never met your father?"

"No, my mother refused to speak of him, said he was a horrible man who wanted nothing to do with me. Somehow, I never thought she was telling the truth. She would never tell me his name or anything else about him, just that he was evil. When she died, I found my birth certificate in an old box in the attic. His name was listed as my father." Ava explained as she pulled a piece of paper out of her backpack on the floor. Harry stepped forward to take the paper. Unfolding it, he inhaled sharply and fell to his knees. Hermione hurried to his side, just as Molly did the same. They both looked at the paper, seeing the same thing Harry did, they both burst into tears.


	2. Part 2

"I take it you recognize the signature." Ava said.

Harry nodded, "This is Remus' signature. I'd recognize that writing anywhere."

"I assume, from the mention of a remembering service, that he's dead." Ava stated.

Harry nodded. "He was killed several years ago in the war. We were fighting an evil dark wizard and he and his wife Tonks were killed." He explained.

"He married, then." Ava said. "Any children?"

"One. A boy, Teddy. He lives with me and my wife." Harry told her.

Ava absorbed this information. She had a brother. "Tell me about him. My father." Said softly.

Harry thought for a moment, "Remus was amazing. He was a good man. Your mother was wrong. There wasn't an evil bone in his body. Yeah, he was a werewolf, but he never hurt anyone when he changed."

Ava stopped him, "A werewolf?"

"Yeah, he was bit when he was very young. He didn't let it rule him though. He still lived life to the fullest. He was a great wizard, did great things. He taught me so much about defense, which helped me defeat the dark lord." Harry added.

Hermione sniffed, "He was a great teacher, a great friend. He loved his wife and son."

Molly wiped her eyes, as Charlie hugged her. "Remus was always a good man, even in school. A very loyal friend." She added.

Ava looked around at them. "Thank you. I knew that my mother was not telling me everything. I had a feeling that she kept me from him, but I'm not sure why. She never got married."

Hermione looked at her, "Did your mother have a power?"

Ava thought for a few moments, "Not that I'm aware of. She got sick just like a regular person would, she had scars and things like that. I never saw her fly or anything."

Harry looked confused. "I believe that Ava has a super power, regeneration. Charlie brought her here because her leg was broken. He called me to come and when I got here, the leg wasn't broken. Then Crookshanks scratched her face and the scratches healed themselves."

"Then she cut me, just to prove to me that I was abnormal." Ava said, making a face.

"I'll have to do some research, but I think you may be in our database at the hospital." Hermione said and stood up, strode to the fireplace and disappeared into the green flames.

Harry shook his head, "That's Hermione. When in doubt, find a book."

Charlie muttered to himself, causing Ava to look at him sharply. "No one asked you to come back. Go, play with your dragons. This silly girl isn't going to bother you anymore."

Harry looked up at Molly, startled.

"For your information, I have already captured the dragon in question, and I came here to see if you were okay. I didn't expect to find out that you have super powers." He said. Molly chuckled at the exchange between her son and this stunning young woman.

Ava stood, "If someone will point the way to town, I'll be going. I've found what I was looking for, so I won't trouble you anymore."

Charlie looked at his mother, "Well, you can't just walk to town, it's miles and miles away." He said.

"Dear, why not stay here? Have some lunch and wait for Hermione to come back with some answers for you. I know you have lots of questions about all this." Molly offered.

"I can't extend a stay that's unwanted. Please, someone just tell me how to get to town and I can take it from there." Ava said, looking pointedly at Charlie.

"No one said you were unwanted here. Stay, I'm leaving." He said and with a loud crack, disappeared again.

"I wish he wouldn't do that. I wasn't finished." Ava said, pouting. Molly laughed and went into the kitchen to fix lunch.

"Harry, will you be staying for lunch?" she called.

"Uh, no, Molly. I have to be getting back to the Ministry. Ginny will be expecting me early this evening. If you haven't seen Remus' wand, then I just be going." He said as he stepped towards the fireplace.

"Alright, dear. Have a good afternoon. Tell my daughter a visit would be nice. I miss my grandchildren." Molly said, looking at him from the kitchen. Harry chuckled and stepped into the green flames and vanished. "Ava, you can join me in here, if you like."

Ava entered the kitchen, still not believing all that was happening. _'Witches and wizards exist. Magic is real. I have a super power.'_ She thought, shaking her head. "How do they disappear like that?" she asked.

Molly handed her a plate with a few sandwiches on it, "That's how we travel. The Floo Network, that's the green flames in the fireplace, and disapparation, that's what Charlie was doing. We use those to travel long distances, and we use brooms for short trips." She answered.

Ava smiled and chuckled which dissolved into full out laughter. "Brooms. Witches on brooms, how cliché." She said between giggles. She asked question after question about magic, trying to learn all she could. Molly was more than happy to answer her questions. After the fifth yawn in a row, "Dear, how long has it been since you've slept?" Molly asked her.

"I don't remember. The days run together." Ava answered.

"Why don't you go have a lie down on the couch and get some rest? I'm sure Hermione will be back around dinnertime tonight. I hope she brings my son and grandchildren." At Ava's confused look, "Hermione is married to my son, Ron. Harry is married to my daughter, Ginny." She explained, and patted her on the shoulder.

Ava lay down on the couch, telling herself she would only close her eyes for a moment. She thought she heard a loud crack, but decided it was nothing and didn't give it much more thought.

"Mum, what am I going to do? The ministry is asking for me to come in to answer for performing magic in front of a muggle." Charlie said to his mother, quietly, looking over at the sleeping woman on the couch.

"Well, she may not be entirely muggle. We have to wait for Hermione to come back with some answers. Don't worry, Harry and Ron won't let you get sent to Azkaban for this." Molly assured him. "Your dad won't either."

"Yeah, but, what do we do with her once Hermione gives us the answers?" he asked.

"I don't know. I don't think she wants to go back to her home. I think her mother was not a nice person and she just doesn't want to go back to those memories." His mother said. Turning her attention to the dinner she was preparing, she listened as her second oldest son walked quietly into the living room. Looking over her shoulder, she saw him sit down and watch Ava sleeping. With a knowing smile, she continued her work.

_'Beautiful brown hair, I wonder if it's soft. What would she do if I reached over and touched it? Why do I keep coming back here to see her?" _he thought as he watched the slow rise and fall of her chest as she breathed.

Feeling that she was being watched, Ava awoke with a start. Looking around she found Charlie staring at her. "Oh, it's just you, Chuck." She said and lay her head back down and closed her eyes again.

"Don't call me Chuck. It's Charlie, okay? Just remember that." He told her through his gritted teeth.

Ava waved her hand in the air, as if swatting a fly. She heard a yelp and opened her eyes, only to see Charlie floating in the air a few feet above the chair he had been sitting in. "Trying to show off?" she asked. Molly came around the corner from the kitchen and squealed.

"What are you doing, Charlie?" she said with her hand to her chest.

"I didn't do it. She did." He said and pointed to Ava.

"That's just crazy, I can't make things levitate. I'm not a witch." Ava scoffed.

Suddenly, he fell back into the chair. Looking shocked, he got up and straightened his clothing. "You may not be a witch, but you sure are doing some strange things." He then stalked to the kitchen, muttering about fickle women, running a hand through his shaggy, red hair.

"Charlie, why don't you let me give you a trim? Your hair looks awful." Molly said, following him.

"Mum, I'm a grown man, I don't need you to fuss about my hair. It's fine." He grumbled.

Ava watched them leave and then looked at her hand, _'Did I really do that? Do I really know how to do magic? He's so infuriating.'_ She thought to herself.

Suddenly, the green flames in the fireplace leapt high. Hermione stepped out, holding the hand of a small child, and right behind her was a man with red hair holding the hand of another child. "Oh, good, you're still here." Hermione said as she saw Ava. "Do you feel okay?" she asked.

"Fine. Did you find some answers?" Ava asked her, sitting up.

"I believe so." Hermione answered and then saw her husband staring at her. "Oh, sorry, this is my husband, Ron, and our children, Rose and Hugo. Children, why don't you go find Grandma." She said. Ron took both children by the hand and led them to the kitchen where he knew his mother would be. Hermione sat down on the chair across from Eva. Charlie entered the room as she began to talk.

"Well, I did find you in the books at the hospital. It seems you were actually born there. Your mother was a muggle. There was nothing out of the ordinary about your birth, other than the claws." Hermione told her.

"Claws?" Ava repeated.

"Yes, you had wolf claws when you were born. A trait inherited from your father, Remus. After you were born, and Remus left to fill out some papers, your mother took you and left. She said nothing to anyone about where she was going. After reading your file, I went to the research library and tried to find out about super powers. I did find one reference to someone having super powers. This person could fly. I got the contact information for him, if you want to go see him." She continued.

"There's something else, Hermione." Charlie began. "She made me levitate earlier. She waved her hand and I rose up in the air."

"Oh, that wasn't me, and you know it. You did it to yourself, making me think it was another abnormal thing about me." Ava got to her feet, standing over him. "I did not do magic, and I am not a super hero." She said and stalked out of the room and continued out of the house.

Charlie and Hermione looked at each other. Hermione slowly rose to go after her. Outside, she found Ava in the garden watching the gnomes. "Funny little things, aren't they." Ava said, sensing Hermione behind her.

"Yes, they are, but destructive, too." Hermione answered. "Are you okay?"

"Not really. Yesterday, I was a normal girl looking for her father. Today, I'm a girl with a super power, who found out her father is dead, and who performed some kind of magic without even knowing it. What is happening to me?" Ava said softly.

"I don't know, Ava. I'd like to say I can relate, but I'm not sure it's the same. See, my parents were muggles, non-magic people. As a child, I made things happen with magic. I had no idea what I was doing, until I was 11 and a professor from the school of Witchcraft and Wizardry showed up telling me that I was a witch. I was scared, confused, nervous, you name it, but I made up my mind to accept it and make the most of it. Now I'm a magical healer and I love it." Hermione said.

"And my parents were killed when I was a year old." A male voice said. Ava looked over her shoulder to see Harry. "I was sent to live with my muggle aunt and uncle. I had no idea about magic or anything, until someone came to me when I was 11. Turns out I was famous before I even knew anything about magic. I survived the attack that killed my parents and the man who attacked us was reduced to living off of others. Then he regained his body and full power and came for me. I defeated him, with the help of my friends." He added his story. "Would you like to see Remus?" he asked.

Ava turned around slowly to face him. "See him? He's dead, isn't he? How can I see him?"

A sneaky smile spread across Harry's face, "Magic." He simply said.

Ava looked at him warily and then nodded, "Okay."

"After dinner." Hermione said and the three went back in the house as Molly called them all for dinner. Ava was introduced to Ginny and Teddy, James, and Al. Also present was Molly's husband Arthur. Charlie stayed for dinner, slightly worried about Ava's reaction earlier. The dinner was delicious. Ava had been eating mostly dried fruit that could be carried in her backpack, so it was a welcome change. She was surprised at how much she enjoyed the dinner and the company. Smiling to herself, she found Charlie watching her. Seeing him looking at her made the smile fade from her face. _'Oh, he's so infuriating. So pompous. Why is he hanging around?'_ she thought.

Molly presented dessert and it was demolished in record time. The group retired to the living room, where Harry and Ron prepared to do the spell to bring Remus to them. Ava watched with an interested gaze. She found herself sitting on the couch between Hermione and Charlie. While waiting, Molly kept up a running commentary about what the two men were doing. Absentmindedly, Charlie put his arm on the back of the couch behind Ava. She shied away from his touch. A puff of smoke arose from in front of Harry and Ron. The kids clapped excitedly. Ava saw a man emerge, well the spirit of a man, at least. He looked around at the faces in the room.

"Hello, everyone. It's good to see you. What is it that you need?" he said, his voice soft and comforting.

"Daddy!" Teddy cried and crossed the room to him.

"Hey, my boy. How are you? I have been watching over you, and your mother and I are proud of how good you are being for Harry and Ginny." Remus said to his son.

"Remus, we have someone here who would like to meet you." Harry said and gestured for Ava to come over beside him. Slowly, she got up and made her way to stand in front of her father. "This is…" Harry started.

"Ava." Remus finished. "I see you got away from your mother long enough to find out about me."

"She died 3 years ago, and I've been looking for you ever since. She never would tell me much about you, except that you were an evil man." Ava said. "Somehow, I knew she couldn't be right. She was always a very bitter woman."

"Yes, that she was. I suspected that she told you something like that. She kept you well hidden from me. I did look for you, but I never could find you. I wanted you to at least know who I was." Remus told her.

"I'm glad that I've found you, although sad that I couldn't have come sooner." Ava responded. "Did my mother ever do anything strange?"

"Strange? Like magic?" he thought for a moment. "Not that I can recall. Why do you ask?"

"According to Hermione I have a super power." Ava said. "I can heal myself. Regeneration, I think she said. How would I have gotten that?"

Surprised, Remus looked around the room. Hermione was nodding her head, "And she can levitate things with the wave of her hand." She added.

"Well, that's odd. I've never heard of a wizard and muggle producing a super, but I suppose it's possible. Being that you were convinced as I was on the verge of morphing, who knows what happened. You see, your mother took a fancy to me after seeing me in town one day. She stalked me and found out that I snuck off once a month. She found out where I would go and followed me. Hitting me over the head with a rock, she stunned me enough to tie my hands, and then, well... I suppose you could say she had her way with me. A month later, she told me that she was pregnant with you. I was shocked, but determined to be a part of my child's life. Even if it meant being a weekend dad. She, however, had other plans. I'm not sure what she hoped to accomplish, but she never let me see you, never let me know anything about you." Remus explained. "I suppose she thought it would make her magical to have a magical child. She was always jealous of the way I was able to make things appear."

"I'm sorry that I never tried to find you sooner. She would refuse to let me ask questions, or even look at old documents. I found my birth certificate in a box in the attic after she died. That's how I found out your name." Ava told him.

"There's no need to apologize, my child. It was certainly not your fault." He said smiling.

"Teddy has a sister?" the little boy said.

"That's right, Teddy. You have a sister. But you will still live with Harry and be a part of his family." Remus told his son.

"Remus, what can you tell us about super powers? Are they real, just rare?" Hermione asked quietly.

"They are very rare, but they do exist. Very little is known about them. I would suggest finding someone with a super power and asking them what they can tell you." He said. "My time is up. Take care my children, friends. We will be watching over you." Remus then disappeared.

Ava turned to Hermione, "Do you..?" she started to ask.

Hermione nodded, "Yes, I still have it. I can contact him in the morning and make an appointment, if you like." She offered.

"Yes, please. I think I'd like to talk with him." Ava said. She took her place back on the couch as the others began talking. It wasn't long before the families took their leave to get their children home in the bed. Ava had no idea what she would do for the night.

Before she got the courage to ask, "Ava, dear, I'll show you to a room, if you're ready."

Confused, "You mean for me to stay here?" she asked.

"Well, yes, of course. You didn't have anywhere else to go, did you?" Molly said.

"Well, no. I just don't want to be a burden." Ava responded with a small smile.

"It's no burden. Since the children have all left and made homes of their own, we have plenty of room." She said, taking Ava by the hand and leading her up the stairs. "Good night, Charlie. Come back to visit soon."

Ava smiled at Molly dismissing her son, and hearing a loud crack, she knew he had left. Molly showed her to a room on the second floor at the top of the stairs. "Here you are dear. There's some night clothes in the dresser, if you'd like to change. Have a good night." She said and continued on up the stairs to her own room.

Ava looked around the room, it was cozy, just like the rest of the house, which is a big contradiction to how the outside of the house looked. _'A real bed, it's been so long. Why did my mother have to be so stubborn? Why couldn't she let me get to know my father?'_ she thought to herself as she got ready for bed. Lying down on the fluffy mattress, she sighed. Closing her eyes, she was instantly asleep, thinking of her father.


	3. Part 3

Sunlight shone through the window as Ava awoke, feeling better than she had in a long time. Stretching, she sat up in bed to find her clothes from the previous day freshly laundered and lying on the chair beside the bed. Reminding herself to thank Molly, she dressed and went to find the bathroom. In the hallway, leaving the bathroom, she ran right into a solid wall, only it was kind of soft in a way. Hands flew up to her shoulders to steady her. Looking up she found that she was looking directly into the eyes of Charlie. "Sorry," she muttered, righting herself.

He kept his hands on her shoulders, looking in to her eyes. "No problem. I was just coming to get you for breakfast. There's a letter for you." He said.

Long moments passed before, "Would you kindly remove your hands from me? I can't very well go down to breakfast if you are standing in my way." She said.

Lowering his hands, "Yeah, right. Sorry." He said.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Molly was making pancakes. Ava also smelled bacon. "Good morning." She said, cheerfully.

Molly turned, "Oh, good morning, dear. Sit down and help yourself. Arthur has already eaten and left for work." She placed a pile of pancakes on the table in front of Ava. Ava took a few and placed them on her plate. Reaching for the syrup, she watched as Charlie sat down across from her. Glaring at him, she poured syrup on her pancakes and ignored him. They ate in silence for several minutes.

Sighing Ava looked up at Charlie, "Look, I suppose I should thank you."

"Thank me? For what?" he asked, startled.

"For finding me in that forest and bringing me here. If you hadn't, I would still be looking for my father. Now, I've found him and found out that he was a good man. So, thank you." She explained.

"You're welcome. Glad I could help." He answered, stuffing his mouth full of food.

Disgusted, Ava looked away, turning her attention to Molly. "He said I had a letter?"

"Oh, yes, dear. Hermione sent an owl for you this morning." She said, pulling the letter out of her apron pocket.

"An owl?" Ava asked.

"Yes, that's how our post is sent." Molly said and handed her the letter.

Ava unrolled the paper, reading to herself. _'Ava, I set up a meeting for you with Dr. Sanchez for lunch today. I will take you there and bring you back to the Burrow afterwards. I will be by to collect you at 11 am. Hermione.'_

"11, not much time to prepare myself." Ava said out loud.

Charlie looked at her quizzically. "Hermione is coming to get me at 11 to meet with this guy she found who has super powers. She's not giving me any time to back out." She said with a chuckle. It was already 10:30, so Ava was right. Hermione was barging right into this with both feet.

"You want me to go with you?" he asked.

"Don't you have dragons to play with? Or bathe, or whatever it is you do with dragons all day?" she retorted.

Molly laughed so loudly that it started them both. Grinning, he replied, "Yeah, okay, I get it. I just wanted to be sure you were okay. I guess I can stop worrying now."

Ava said, "Yeah, you do that."

Molly just watched the two of them. They didn't know it yet, but they were perfect for each other. She saw it in the way they sniped at one another, and she couldn't be happier. Charlie was her only child not married yet, and she wanted to see him happy with a family of his own. The fireplace turned green and in moments, Hermione stepped out. "Good morning." She said and sat down at the table.

"Hello, dear, breakfast?" Molly said, turning to the stove.

"Oh, no thanks, Molly. I had breakfast earlier. I was able to get away a little early, so I thought I would come and talk with Ava about how to travel." She told her.

"Oh, well, that depends on the methods. I don't much care for the disappearing thing that he did bringing me here." Ava said, gesturing over at Charlie. Hermione laughed.

"Well, that would be the fastest way. We could use the Floo, but the nearest fireplace to his office is over 5 miles away. It's too late to have his connected to the network, or I would have Ron do that." Hermione explained.

"Well, then, I guess I have no choice." Ava said, resigned to the fact that she would be sucked into the abyss again. After a few moments, "I suppose we should get going. Don't want to be late. Would you stay with me when I meet him?" She said and stood.

Hermione nodded and stood, consulting her watch. "Yes, we should be going. I would be honored to stay with you." She agreed. Stepping closer to Ava, she held out her hand. Ava took a deep breath and placed her hand in Hermione's. Before she could count to 1, she was sucked into the abyss, not able to breathe. Seconds later, they appeared in a small office. "I will never get used to that." Ava said, straightening her shirt. She heard a slight chuckle behind her and turned around. A man sat behind the desk. He was middle-aged, around 40 or 45, she guessed, had dark black hair and wore glasses. A moustache graced the top of his lip and a slight beard growth was seen on his chin.

"Hello. You must be Mrs. Weasley and Ms. Kyker." He said with a smile.

"Yes, I'm Hermione Granger-Weasley and this is Ava Kyker, the lady I told you about." Hermione said, introducing them. "Are you Dr. Sanchez?"

"That I am. Please have a seat and tell me what brings you here today." He said, gesturing to the two chairs in front of his desk.

Ava and Hermione sat down and Hermione spoke, "Well, I believe that Ava here has a super power. She can heal herself." She then launched in to the events of the previous day.

"Well, now, you're a regenerator. Interesting. Only one other one has ever been recorded." He said.

"There are others?" Ava asked quietly.

"Well, yes, I myself am a super. I can fly." He told her.

"Well, she made someone levitate with a wave of her hand, also. Is it common for supers to have magical powers?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I've only ever heard of one super possessing more than one power, and he was an absorber. He absorbed the powers around him. Meaning, he was able to do what other supers could do." Eyeing Ava, he contemplated her ability. "I wonder…" he trailed off. "Would you be open to a test of sorts?" he asked.

"I suppose so. What kind of test?" Ava said, warily.

"I want to see if you are an absorber. Step out on to the terrace there and we will see if you can fly." He explained.

"You're going to push me off the terrace?" Ava said, jumping up with a start.

"No, no, no. You are going to step off the terrace. Don't worry, if you don't fly, I will catch you. Remember, I can fly." He said.

Ava looked at Hermione, who nodded while shrugging her shoulders. Slowly, she made her way to the terrace. The others followed. She stepped up onto the ledge and took a deep breath. Looking back at Hermione, she stepped off the ledge. Expecting to fall, she was shocked to find that she was floating in the air. Looking down, she saw the street below. Turning, she found Hermione gaping at her and Dr. Sanchez smiling. She put her arms up above her head and soared upward. Putting her hands back down, she floated back to the terrace. Stepping back onto the terrace, Ava had a very odd expression on her face. "Well, did I pass the test?"

Chuckling, he said, "With flying colors. Let's go sit and talk."

The two women followed him back inside. Sitting, "Does this mean that I'm an absorber?" Ava asked.

"I do believe so, although the issue of levitating with the wave of your hand is giving me pause. I've never known a super to have the ability to move objects, but I suppose that's not really out of the ordinary. Were you in the vicinity of any other supers when you did it?" he asked.

"No, I was in a house full of witches and wizards. The mother had levitated me and moved me in to the house with magic, but that's all I can tell you." Ava responded.

"Dr. Sanchez, could it be possible that she can absorb any kind of power, magic or super?" Hermione asked, thinking.

"Please, call me David. I suppose it could be possible. I would have to research it." He said, pausing to think, he continued, "Tell me, what were the circumstances of your conception and birth, if you know."

"Well, I do happen to know. I just met my father last night and he told me how I was conceived. He's a werewolf," at this David's eye widened. "and my mother took advantage of him when he was on the verge of transformation. He said that the moment of his uh,.. release into her, was the exact moment that he was in that space between human and werewolf." Ava explained.

"Ah… that explains a lot, then." At the women's confused expressions, he added, "Well, you see, when a child is conceived on a human by a werewolf who is on the cusp of transformation, that child will become one of two things. Either an unstoppable werewolf, or a super. It seems you became a super."

"Well, in the file of when she was born, she had wolf claws at birth. How do you explain that?" Hermione told him.

"Well, that would be something I'd have to research. I suppose there is a possibility that Ava could be both. Although that is very unlikely, I will certainly research it. Now, Hermione, you are a witch, correct?" he asked. At her nod, he continued, "How about another little test? Do you have a spell to conjure fire or water?"

"Yes, I have both." Hermione said, then performed both spells using her wand.

"Excellent, now Ava, hold out your hand, palm up." When she complied, "Now, think about the fire."

Ava concentrated on the fire that Hermione had conjured up. Suddenly, the flame appeared in her hand. Eyes wide, she looked up at David, "Good, good. Now imagine the water she conjured putting out the fire." He said. She did as he told her, and water sprinkled down into her hand putting out the flame.

"Oh, wow." It was all she could think of to say.

"Well, it seems that you can absorb magical powers as well as super powers. Only, the magical powers have to be performed in front of you, whereas you only have to be in the general area of a super to absorb their power."

"What about magical creatures?" Ava asked, as Hermione nodded.

"Well, I suppose that would be the same. The magic would have to be performed in front of you for you to absorb it." He said.

"Are there other absorbers?" Ava asked.

"Only one other that I can know of. He's in Ireland now." David answered.

"So, how did you find these other supers?" Hermione asked.

"Well, supers are connected in a way. We can sense each other and we gravitate towards other supers in times of need. If you feel a strong pull to go find someone, then you must obey that pull. We supers come together in times of catastrophic events. The last one being before you were born. Here, I will give you my cell number and you can call me if you have more questions, or if you need anything. The supers who have met try to stay in contact with each other. That makes it easier when we have to save the world." He said with a smile. "I will do some more research, as you seem to be more powerful than the other supers, and will let you know what I find out." Accepting Ava's cell number, he stood. "Now, if you ladies will excuse me, I do have a few patients to attend."

"One more thing, David. Would you be opposed to being connected to our Floo network? It's a means of travel for witches and wizards." Hermione asked.

"Yeah, the flames in your fireplace turn green and then they appear or disappear." Ava explained.

"I see no reason why not. It would make it easier to get help when we need it. There could be one day that supers will have to work with the magic world." He agreed and stepped out of the office.

Ava reached out to take Hermione's hand. "Well, let's get this over with." She sighed.

Hermione smiled and then took Ava' outstretched hand to disapparate back to the Burrow. Appearing outside in the garden, the two women made their way to the house. "Molly, we're back." Hermione called.

Opening the door, "Oh, hello dears. How did it go?" Molly said, ushering them inside. Entering the kitchen, they found Charlie sitting at the table, drinking a cup of tea.

"Don't you have your own home?" Ava sniped.

"Yes, but I'm more interested in what you found out, right now." He said with a smile. He had made up his mind to annoy her as much as possible.

Sighing, Ava and Hermione sat down and recounted what Dr. Sanchez had told them about supers. Listening attentively, Charlie and Molly asked questions occasionally as the girls talked. "So, you're a super hero, who can absorb the powers of those around her." Charlie said after they finished. Ava nodded and put her head down in her hands.

"This is a lot of information to process. I don't think I can handle all this." She said.

Molly reached over and put her hand on Ava's shoulder. "You'll figure it out, dear. I have faith in you."

Ava looked up and met her eyes. "Thanks." Taking a deep breath, "Now, I just have to figure out what to do. I have to make a living for myself, find a place to live. How am I supposed to do that, knowing that at any moment I could be called away for super hero duties. How do I put that on a job application?" she asked.

Charlie cleared his throat. The women looked at him, "I may have a solution for you. I know a shop keeper who is, well, dying. He has no heirs to leave his store to and if he dies before signing it over to anyone, then the store will close. It's the only general store for several hours around. You would be doing him a favor by taking it over for him, and you'd be your own boss, so you could come and go as you like. He has employees, but no one he would trust to keep the store running like he has."

Ava looked at him, distrusting. "Well, if it gets me away from you, then I'm all for it."

Molly chortled and Hermione smiled. "I need to get back to the hospital, and I need to stop off at the ministry first." She stood to leave. Stepping into the fireplace, she spoke a few words and vanished into the green flames.

"Well, dang. I didn't get to thank her." Ava said.

Molly handed her a quill and parchment, "Write her a letter, dear and I'll send it by owl to her. She should get it before she leaves the office today."

"Thanks." Ava said, taking the parchment and quill. A bottle of ink appeared next to her and she thought for a moment before dipping the quill into the ink. She wrote for several moments before glancing up. Seeing Charlie watching her, "What?" she snapped.

"Nothing." He said with a laugh.

"Stop staring at me. No offense, Molly, but your son is annoying." She said.

Molly laughed, working at the stove on dinner. Ava continued writing and finished with a flourish. She was very grateful for Hermione going with her today and helping her find out all this stuff. Finding Charlie still watching her, she huffed and rolled the letter up. Handing it to Molly, she watched as the older woman attached it to an owl's leg. The owl took off out the window, delivering it's burden. Turning her head, she glared at Charlie, "Well, are you going to take me to this shop keeper, or do I have to find my own way?" she snapped.

Charlie laughed, "You'll have to hold my hand."

Ava looked away disgusted. Standing up, she crossed the room to Molly. "Thank you for your hospitality. You could have very easily refused to allow me in your home. I appreciate you allowing me to stay and helping me see my father."

"Oh, dear it was no trouble. You are welcome in this house any time. We would love visits from time to time. I'm sure you'll adjust well to your new situation." Molly said gathering her in to a hug.

Turning, she saw Charlie grinning at her, holding out his hand. Grimacing, "Don't look so happy." She snapped. "I'm just using you as transport." Taking his hand, she felt a strange feeling, like a shock of electricity running through her. Deciding that the contact had created an electric shock, she sighed. "Let's get this over with." He turned on the spot and once again she was sucked into the abyss, not able to breathe, a weight squeezing the air from her lungs. Within seconds, they appeared in a dark room. "Where are we?" she asked, looking around, trying to see in the darkness.

"An empty room in an inn, a few miles away from the Romania border, in Hungary." Charlie told her. Still holding her hand, he began to lead her out of the room to the stairs.

Yanking her hand out of his, she snapped, "I don't need to be led by the hand, thank

Dropping his head for a moment, Charlie sighed. "Whatever. Come on." He said and led the way down the stairs.

"Hey, Charlie, where you headed?" a man asked as they crossed the lobby of the inn.

"To the general store, Steve. Got someone who may can help." He told the man. Ava followed him out of the inn. She looked around in the sudden brightness of the sun. The town was small, only one street, like the town in the old west on TV. Small shops lined the street. A doctor's office, a sheriff's office, a post office among them. Charlie led the way to the left. Walking quickly, he made his way along the sidewalk. Stopping suddenly, Ava almost ran into him. "Here we are." He said, holding open a door for her to enter.

She entered the shop, and looked around. The shelves were full of all kinds of things, from food to hardware supplies. Clothing lined a rack near the front window. A man appeared, hearing the tinkle of the bell on the door. "Ah, Charlie, so good to see you, lad." The man said.

"Alfred, you're looking well." Charlie greeted him.

"No, I don't, and you and I both know it." Alfred replied. Ava had to agree with him, the man looked to be any second from falling over dead. His face was sunken, his skin pale, his hair stringy. His hands shook as he reached out for Charlie's.

"Alfred, this is Ava, and I think she can help. She's in need of lodging and a job. She has agreed to keep the shop just exactly as you have all these years. I'm sure she would do a great job with it." He said, ignoring the look Ava gave him.

_'When did I ever agree to that? Although, I suppose I could.'_ She thought to herself, glaring at Charlie.

Alfred looked over at her and she stood up straight. "He's right, sir. I promise that the shop will continue on in the same manor that you have been keeping it." She assured him, offering her hand for a shake.

"Well, since you come with a glowing recommendation from Charlie, here, I believe we can work something out. I don't have many more days left here, and I would love to get this worry off my mind before I go. The papers are all drawn up, if you'd like to look over them." He said, leading the way back to his office.

Charlie allowed Ava to go first, following Alfred. He and Alfred talked while Ava read over the papers to take over the store. She was surprised that the old man had been so quick in trusting her. She found nothing out of the ordinary in the papers and readily agreed to the terms. Signing the papers, Ava and Alfred shook hands. Alfred had a rare smile on his face. One less worry on his mind when he died. "Come, I'll show you around the shop and how to work the register. There are employees who work, and are able to open and close the shop if you need to be away."

"I'll just be going. Alfred, take care. Ava, it's been a pleasure." Charlie said with a bow to her. He looked around and then disappeared with a loud crack.

"I hate when he does that. I had something to say." Ava said. Turning to Alfred, she found him smiling at her.

"He fancies you, dearie. I've never seen Charlie look that way before, and I've known him for a long time." Alfred said. Ava waved off his comments as nonsense. She spent the next few hours learning about the workings of the shop. She assured him that she had it all down pat, he had nothing to worry about. He showed her upstairs to the living space. "Here you go, it's all yours. It's been empty for a long time, but I've had the cleaning crew keep it up, in hopes that I was able to work something out with someone." He said with tears in his eyes. "I'm going to miss this place, but I'm very anxious to see my Mary again." He then slowly made his way down the stairs and out of the shop. Ava followed and locked the door behind him, having closed the shop before going upstairs. She walked around the shop, taking in everything, then slowly made her way up the stairs to her new home.


	4. Part 4

The next day began a new life for Ava, she opened the shop and greeted the customers. Her employees adjusted to her presence quickly. The days turned in to weeks and the weeks to months. She found herself thinking of Charlie often for some reason. _'That annoying git won't go away.'_ She thought angrily after finding herself thinking of him.

One day after closing up the shop, she made her way slowly up the stairs to her home. Opening the door, she stifled a scream. Charlie was sitting on her couch. "What the bloody hell? What gives you the right to just pop in here uninvited?" she shouted.

Charlie just smiled, "I wanted to see how you'd react."

"Well, now you know. Get out!" she countered.

"Hey, now, I just got here." He said, standing up to cross the room towards her. "I really wanted to see how you were doing. It's been a while since Alfred died and I wanted to check on you."

"Well, the shop is still standing, as you can see. There's no need to worry, I won't go back on my promise to him." She said, moving to the kitchen to put some space between them. He was entirely too close.

She pulled out a skillet, and placed it on the stove. Moving to the refrigerator, she pulled out some meat and the makings for a salad. Thinking he would leave at her rebuff, she didn't pay any attention to him. Before she knew it, she turned around and ran right into him. Dropping her tomato, she reached out her hands to steady herself, winding up with them on his shoulders. He began to grin. Jerking away from him, she bent to pick up her tomato and stepped around him to continue making her dinner. Turning on the flame under the skillet, she placed the meat in it. Pulling out a knife, she began cutting the vegetables for her salad. Charlie watched with an amused expression on her face. Turning, she caught him watching her, "Well, if you're going to ignore me and stay, the least you could do is help." She snapped.

Chuckling, he moved to stand behind her, "Only if you invite me to dinner." He whispered in her ear.

Feeling his breath on her ear made her shiver, but she didn't show it, didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he affected her that way. Moving away, she glared at him. After several long moments, she consented, "Fine, would you like to stay for dinner?"

"More than you know." He said with a grin. Flicking his wand, he made some vegetables start chopping themselves.

"No fair." She said.

"Well, you can do it now, remember." He laughed.

"Oh." She said, her face falling. She was surprised at her own reaction. Living a normal life, she had almost forgotten that she was a super. Taking the knife from her hand, Charlie placed his hand on her chin, turning her to look into her eyes.

"What is it?" he asked, concerned.

"Nothing, it's nothing." She said, shaking her head. Turning back to the stove, she stirred the meat in the skillet so it didn't burn. Grabbing her knife back, she went back to chopping up the lettuce for the salad. She heard him sigh behind her and then move away. He found a bowl to put the salad in and began putting all the chopped veggies into it. She went to the refrigerator and got out the cheese and dressing. Turning out the flame on the stove, she put the meat into the salad and started mixing it together.

Silently, she went to the cabinet and got two plates, forks and glasses. Pulling out a bottle of red wine, she poured it into the glasses on the table. Sitting down, she gestured to the seat across from her. Charlie joined her at the table, still looking concerned. "So, how's business?" he asked.

"It's been surprisingly good. I was afraid that once Alfred died, the people would stop coming in, but I guess being the only general store for miles around doesn't give them much choice." She laughed softly. They began to talk about their lives as they ate.

Putting the dishes in the sink, Ava told Charlie to go in to the living room and relax. She joined him after filling the dishwasher and starting it. Sitting on the chair across from him, she waved her hand and a fire appeared in the fireplace. "Hermione taught me that." She said, smiling. "She also had me connected to the Floo Network."

"Why does it make you sad to talk about magic?" he asked.

"Well," she started, taking a deep breath. "I guess it's because I don't feel like I can do this. I don't feel like I deserve these powers. What happens if the supers are needed to save the world again? I can't do this. I just can't." she said, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

Crossing to her, he sat on the coffee table in front of her. Taking her hand, "Ava, you are an amazing woman. Being a super is just part of how special you are. You have to believe in yourself, as much as I believe in you. Once you are in a situation where you need your powers, it will come naturally. I promise, you can do this. Maybe it would help you if talked with this other absorber and see how he handled it." He told her.

She nodded, accepting his words, but not really believing that she could do this. Being a super was a major responsibility, how could she possibly be able to save the world if the time came again. He could tell she didn't really believe in herself, and knew that nothing he said would help. He dropped the subject, hoping to pull her back to her smiling self. It worked for a while, they talked about their childhood and school days. After several hours, he stood to leave. "I have to go. I didn't realize what time it was." She nodded and he disappeared with a loud crack.

Staying put in the chair by the fire, she stared into the flames, thinking. Every day, she hoped that she wouldn't be called upon to use her super powers. Thinking about Charlie's visit, _'He's still annoying.'_ She thought, not really believing it anymore. She liked him, but she knew that he could never like her. She was a freak of nature. How could anyone want to spend time with her?

A few weeks later, sitting in her living room, reading, the flames in the fireplace turned green. Knowing what was coming, she expected Hermione or even Charlie, and was surprised to see Dr. Sanchez stepping out of the flames. Dusting off his jacket, "Well, I'm not sure I can get used to that means of travel." He said.

"It takes some getting used to." Ava replied. "What can I do for you, David?" she asked, closing her book.

"Well, I'm sorry to say that it's happening. A catastrophic event that could end the world." He said sadly.

Ava jumped up, "No, I can't do this. I'm not ready." She said.

"You'll have to be ready, we need you." He said and sat down to tell her the details. "The world seems to be on the brink of war. There is someone causing tons of damage around the world and only we can stop him."

"How?" she whispered.

"Well, we don't really have a plan yet, as we are waiting for the supers to come together. I came to get you before the pull started to get stronger. I didn't want it to scare you and cause you to run away." He told her.

"But, where do we find this person?" she asked.

"We have an idea of where he is. If we don't stop him, the world will collapse in on itself and we all die." He replied. "We need to go, Ava."

Sighing, she said, "Let me make a phone call first." Picking up her phone, she called one of her employees and asked them to open and close the store for a few days as she would be going out of town. Hanging up, she turned to him. She walked towards the fireplace and followed him to his home. Arriving, she saw a few other people waiting there.

"These are a few of the other supers. This is Stephanie, she has the power of time manipulation. That's Michael beside her, he can manipulate anything mechanical. With the power of super hearing is Stanley. Lastly, this is Mitchell, he can become invisible." David introduced her. "We are still waiting on others."

The group discussed how they would stop this person. Not knowing much about him, it was really going to be a think as you go kind of thing. A knock on the door drew their attention. "Steven." David said after opening the door. "Good to see you."

"David. I had really hoped we wouldn't have to meet again like this." The man said, walking in to the room with the other supers. His eyes found Ava right away. She was the only new face there. "Another super?" he asked.

"Yes, she's like you, an absorber. Only her power is a bit more magnified, she can absorb magical powers as well, from witches and wizards and magical creatures." David said. "This is Ava."

"Well, I still haven't tested out that breathing fire thing, so we don't really know about the magical creatures." Ava said with a slight laugh.

David and the others laughed and continued their discussion. Another knock at the door halted the conversation. "Ah, this must be Sam." He said, getting up and crossing to the door. A woman was standing there, "Hello David. I came as soon as I could." She said walking in, her heels clicking on the tiles.

"Sam, this is Ava, another absorber. Ava, this is Sam, she can…"

"Hear people's thoughts." Ava finished for him.

"How did you…?" he started.

Steven laughed, "Obviously, Ava can now too, and since it didn't happen until Sam walked in, it's not hard to figure."

Ava blushed, "Right."

"So, where do we go?" Sam asked.

"The only thing we know is that he is in northern Russia." David informed them.

"Great, any further north and he'd be called Santa Claus." Mitchell stated.

"Right, that's why we have to stop him." Stephanie piped in.

"So, how are we getting there?" Michael asked.

"We fly, of course." David said with a smile. Ava's eyes widened. "Stephanie with Ava; Michael and Stanley with Steven; and Mitchell and Sam with me." He said.

"Are you sure about this?" Ava squeaked.

"Trust me, this is the easy part. You've done it before, it will be just fine." He assured her. Stepping towards the door, the others followed.

Taking hands, they took off into the air. Ava was nervous, it had been so long since she had flown. "It's okay. I know you can do it." Stephanie told her, squeezing her hand. Once up in the air, Ava relaxed and enjoyed the feeling of the wind in her face. Following David and Steven, it didn't take long to get to their destination. Landing softly in the snow covered trees of a forest, they all quietly made their way towards the sounds of fighting. Peering through the trees, she saw an amazing sight. Fire everywhere, a man stood in the middle using some kind of lightning power. Looking off to the right a little, Ava saw where the fire was coming from.

Gasping, "Look." She said. The others saw what she did. "Dragons." She breathed.

"Dragons? As in fire-breathing, scaly…. That kind of dragon?" Stanley asked.

Ava nodded her head. "We aren't equipped to deal with dragons." Mitchell spoke.

"I know someone who is, though." Ava told them. "He's a wizard and works as a dragon keeper in a dragon colony. He'd be perfect for this."

"But how do we get him here?" Sam asked.

"I'm not sure." Ava stopped and slowly turned her head around to look behind her. Her eyes widened as she saw a dragon looking down on them. It was huge, smoke coming out of it's nostrils. "Um…. Guys." She said.

They all turned and stared at the dragon. Suddenly, a stream of fire came from the dragon's mouth. They all jumped to the side. "Now would be a good time for that fire breathing, Ava." David shouted.

"I'm not even sure I can do it." She said.

"Just concentrate. Feel the fire flowing through you." Steven stepped towards her.

She closed her eyes and concentrated, suddenly the flames shot forth from her mouth. Steven stepped back, smiling. The dragon took a step back as well. _'Oh, where is Charlie when I really need him.'_ She thought to herself as she summoned another stream of fire. A loud crack caused them all to look away from the dragon. Charlie was standing there looking a bit confused. "What the bloody hell? How did I get here?"

"Who cares, just deal with this thing." Ava shouted at him. He looked up, seeing the dragon, and smiled. "That's a Norwegian Ridgeback." He said.

"I don't really care what it is, just do something." David yelled at him.

"It's simple really." He walked towards the dragon, reaching Ava's side. Raising his wand, he shouted, "Stupefy!" A jet of red light shot forth out of his wand. The dragon just shook his head, as if something tickled his nose. "Okay, this time, together. On three." He said, taking Ava's hand. Staring at him, she understood what she needed to do. Saying it with him this time, a jet of red shot out of his wand and out of her fingers towards the dragon. It reeled back and fell over on it's side. Mouth open, Ava stared at Charlie once again.

"There are more." She said after a moment.

"Okay, I'll take this one to the colony and I'll be right back." He walked over to the dragon and placing a hand on it, disappeared with a loud crack. A few moments later, he reappeared with a few others right behind him.

"What the hell?" Steven said.

"Witch and wizards at your service. They can help me with the dragons. It took a lot to take down that one, and he was just a baby." Charlie explained. Harry, Ron and Hermione were standing behind him. Ginny appeared a moment later.

"Just a baby?" Stanley choked. "If he was a baby, I'd hate to see a full grown."

"Yeah, you would. Now, those down there are bigger and meaner. It will take a lot of magic to bring them down." Charlie said, thinking. "We may need more help, unless we can get them one at a time." He stated.

"Okay, you take care of the dragons, and we will take care of the power hungry villain there." David said with a new resolve. They could do this, they were super heroes for crying out loud. Stepping out from behind the trees, the group made their way down to the former village. Seeing them, the big man in the fur coat sneered. Laughing, he shot a bolt of lightning at them. "Did you get that?" he asked.

"Are you kidding?" Steven scoffed. "You always doubt, dear friend." Ava knew that she had gotten it as well. She could feel the electricity coursing through her.

Suddenly, a huge crater appeared in front of the man. Contemplating this, the supers tried to come up with a way to stop him. Charlie, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny made their way to one of the dragons. Before long, the supers saw that dragon go down and then disappear. "How do they do that? Disappearing and reappearing." Steven said.

"It's a way for them to travel. I wouldn't recommend it." Ava said with a grimace. "I think I know what we can do." She said and started down towards the man and the crater. She vanished as she made her way. Taking her cue, Steven and Mitchell did the same. They crept around the crater to get behind the man, while the others walked straight for it.

"Hahahahaha," the man laughed. "You can't stop me. I am Zeus, the almighty, and I will destroy this earth and every person on it."

"Including yourself?" David said.

"I am Zeus, I can't die." He said.

"Somehow I don't think that's true." Steven and Ava became visible behind the man calling himself Zeus. He turned on them and shot lightning out of his hands. Ava dove to one side and Steven to the other. Together, they both shot lightning back at him, hitting him in the chest. He staggered back from the force, but wasn't fazed.

"My dragons will take care of you." He shouted.

Looking around he saw Charlie and the others standing there, "Yeah, they can't help you now." Charlie said. Ava was trying to sneak up on Zeus, while Steven was helping Mitchell to stand. _'What is she doing? She's going to get herself killed.'_ He thought to himself.

Zeus turned just as Ava approached him. Shooting lighting at her, she shot back, but also shot forth fire from her mouth. This took him by surprise, grabbing on to her shirt, he started falling. Pulling Ava with him, he fell into the crater. Steven rushed forward and grabbed on to her feet. Ava fought with Zeus to get him to let go of her shirt. She knew that it was her only chance of survival. Feeling a weight leave her feet, she saw Steven coming level with her. He pried Zeus' fingers loose and she and Steven began to float away as Zeus continued to plunge into the depths of the crater. Ava and Steven flew back up to the top as David and Stephanie came running.

Now knowing what they had to do, the supers combined their hands around the crater with the witches and wizards. Harry began to chant a spell, their hands glowed with the energy of the magic flowing through them all. The crater began to close. When it was completely closed, they all fell to their knees exhausted. After several minutes, David stood, "Well, I told you we'd need magic to help us save the world someday." He said to Hermione with a smile.

"He's planted bombs all on the earth's axis, but he's pretty stupid. They don't have detonators on them, so they can't even blow up. I'll have some people go dig them up and destroy them, so no one can come along and arm them." Sam said, telling them all what she saw in his mind.

Everyone stood in their own time, recovering from the force of magic it took to close the crater. Ava's entire body shook, she was freaking out. She didn't know how to cope with all of this. Charlie saw her and made his way to her. Putting his arms around her, he looked up to find David and Steven watching them. David nodded slightly, and Charlie disapparated with Ava, back to her home above the shop. Sitting her down on the couch, he tried to hold her, but she jerked out of his arms.

"Just leave me, Charlie. I need some time to sort this all out on my own." She told him.

Hurt that she wouldn't accept his comfort, Charlie disappeared. Ava paced the room, still shaking. Running her hands through her hair, she just kept pacing. For hours, she was like this, not able to sit still, her adrenaline running at an all-time high. The flames in the fireplace turned green and out steps David. Seeing the state that Ava was in, he pulls out his cell phone and caled Steven. Telling Steven how to use the Floo Network, he assured him that it was safe. Putting his phone away, he sits to wait. Soon, the flames turn green again announcing Steven's arrival. "That's freaky." He said.

Ava jumped at the sound of his voice, not realizing that other people were in the room with her. Steven took one look at her and knew exactly what she was going through. It had happened to him, the first time he took on more powers. Earlier that day, she had absorbed five super powers, plus the two magical ones that were done in front of her. It would be enough to drive anyone insane. "Oh, Ava, I should have warned you." He said, crossing the room to her side.

"Warn me? Yeah, that may have been a good idea, warn me that I would feel like I'm going to explode. I can't do this, I don't want this." She rambled.

"Unfortunately, there is nothing to be done about that. This is who you are. You will learn to cope with it, and it will get easier, I promise. You need to find a way to calm yourself. Listen to music, take a hot bath, take some sleeping pills, whatever it takes to calm you down. If not, it will only get worse. Find someone to share this with, someone to take care of you, to help you calm down, that helped me." Steven told her.

Charlie's face swam in front of her. She wished she hadn't sent him away. "I think I'll try the hot bath and music." She said. "Anything to get this overwhelming, overpower feeling out of me. I don't think I can take in any more powers."

"You've been given a gift, Ava. It wouldn't have been given to you, if you couldn't handle it. You just have to find your 'zen' place, so to speak." David told her.

"A gift. Well, I didn't ask for this 'gift' and if I could give it back, I would." She retorted and headed to her bathroom. Starting the hot water, she lit several lilac candles around the room. Returning to her bedroom, she noticed that the two men had gone. "Good, I need to do this on my own." She said to the empty room. Putting a CD in the player, soft jazz music wafted through the house.

Sinking down into the hot water, she sighed, beginning to relax. Closing her eyes, she let the soothing music and scent of lilacs wash over her. _'What do you know? It does help to relax.'_ She thought to herself with a smile. _'Maybe I can do this.'_

The water soon grew cold, so she stepped out and dried off. Putting on a bathrobe, she walked to the kitchen to get a drink of water, then headed to bed. It had been a long day, and she was suddenly exhausted. Dropping her robe on the foot of the bed, she climbed in, not bothering to put a gown on.

He arrived by Floo, not wanting to wake her if she was asleep. He had worried about her from the moment he saw the expression on her face after the crater closed. Silently, he made his way to her bedroom. Stopping at the doorway, he watched her sleep. She looked peaceful, that's a good thing. Hearing a noise behind him, he turned to find Steven standing there. "She needs you. Just stay by her side, and love her. If she tells you to leave, don't. She needs you, even if she doesn't want to admit it." He whispered to Charlie and then turned to leave. Charlie watched him step into the fire and disappear, then turned his attention back to Ava's sleeping form. Stepping in to the room, he crossed to the chair. Sitting, he stretched his legs out in front of him and rested his head on the back of the chair. That's how she found him the next morning.


	5. Part 5

Yawning and stretching in the sunlight, Ava was startled to find Charlie asleep in the chair. Holding the covers up to her chin, she cleared her throat. Charlie jumped up as if he had been bitten. "Oh, you're awake." He said.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I was worried about you. I couldn't stand leaving you last night. I wanted to help." He said.

"Yeah, sorry about asking you to leave. I really didn't want you to leave." She replied. He watched her for several moments. "So, could you leave the room so that I can dress?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I'll just go start breakfast." He stammered, and left the room.

Shaking her head, Ava got out of bed and dressed. Arriving in the kitchen, she silently leaned against the counter, watching him cook bacon and eggs. He turned and jumped at the sight of her. "You scared me." He said.

Laughing, she replied, "Me, scare you. And just how many times have you popped in here without warning, scaring the life out of me?"

He grinned sheepishly, placing two plates on the table with glasses of juice. "Sit, eat, you'll feel better."

Ava sat and had to admit that he did know how to cook. Must come from his mother. They ate in silence, watching each other. After putting the dishes in the sink, Ava spoke, "I best get downstairs and open the store." She started to walk towards the door.

His hand shot out and grabbed her arm. "Take the day off."

"What? I can't do that." She replied.

"Why not? You haven't taken a day off since you got this place, you deserve at least a little time to recover from yesterday. You need a day to just enjoy things." He told her. "Sarah opened the shop an hour ago. Let her handle it."

Ava looked at him, thinking about what he said. "Okay, but no magic." she said, knowing that she couldn't handle absorbing more magic right now.

"I promise once we get there, no magic, until we leave. Gotta have a little to get there and back." He grinned, happy that she had agreed. "Now, go put your shoes on and I'll pack a picnic lunch."

Ava shook her head, smiling, and went to change. Deciding that a ratty t-shirt and jeans wouldn't be appropriate for this first date. _'Date?! When did that happen?'_ she thought to herself, shocked. Choosing a white sundress, she slipped on sandals to match. It was warm outside, since it was summer time. Back in the kitchen, she saw Charlie packing a basket with sandwiches and drinks. He looked up when she entered, mouth open, he stared at her.

_'Wow! She really is beautiful.'_ He thought. She laughed and he shook his head to clear it. He didn't know that she could hear his thoughts now. Something she planned to keep from him for a while. "Ready?" he asked, recovering from his shock of seeing her in a dress.

"As ready as I'll ever be." She said. Reaching out to take her hand, he made his way to her side, holding the basket. She took his hand reluctantly, not really liking the disapparating thing. She was then sucked into the abyss once again and cursed him in her mind. Just as suddenly as the air left her lungs, they appeared in a small cove. They landed on a beach, surrounded on each side by mountains. Behind them was a grove of trees with a small path winding through. In front of them was a calm bay, as blue as the sky, inviting them to dive in. He put the basket down on a nearby rock and held out his hand to her again. "You promised, no more magic."

"I just want to take a walk. No magic." He said, offering his hand to her again. She took it and they set off on the path through the trees.

An hour later, they returned to the secluded beach. He pulled a blanket from the basket and spread it on the soft sand. Together, they set out the lunch that he had prepared. Not talking, they ate, just relishing the beautiful day outside. After putting everything away, except for the blanket, they sat there, sometimes making a comment, sometimes in silence. Ava felt comfortable in his presence, there was usually no need to talk, although his thoughts were practically screaming at her. She had to keep herself from laughing several times, as his thoughts ranged from fear that she wouldn't like him to how many ways he could get her alone to how George managed to find someone to keep him reigned in. She assumed George was another brother, but never brought it up. They stayed and watched the sun sink down over the water, casting wonderful colors. Standing, Charlie offered her his hand to help her up. He grabbed the blanket and folded it, sticking it back in the basket. "You must be as hungry as I am. How about we get something to eat before heading back?" he said.

"Sure," she answered, holding out her hand for him this time. He disapparated and they appeared in the middle of a bustling street. "Magical place, I take it?" she asked, as they had appeared right in the middle of a crowd of people who paid them no mind.

"Yeah, this is Diagon Alley. This is where we come for all things magical. There's a nice little café at the end of the street." He told her.

She looked around her at the street lined with magical shops. Still holding her hand, Charlie led her to the café. Holding the chair for her, he motioned her to sit, then sat across from her at the little table. Menus appeared in front of them and they read them in silence. Deciding what they wanted, they only had to speak the item allowed and it appeared. Ava was amazed and slightly surprised at the ease of magic. There really wasn't anything demanding about it. They ate in a companionable silence for a while, then began to talk about the slight changes she wanted to make to the store. Nothing drastic that would make the old man think she was going back on her promise, just a few additions here and there, and some updating to the décor. Finishing their dinner, he paid the bill and they disapparated back to her place. She went about putting the basket and things away. Turning, she found him watching her, still standing by the fire. Crossing to him, she leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you, Charlie. You were right, I needed this today." She said with a smile.

He grinned, "I'll see you tomorrow." And then he was gone. Sighing, Ava went to her bedroom to get ready for bed. Thinking of the day with Charlie, she began to wonder if she was starting to have feelings for him.

The next day, true to his word, Charlie showed up after she closed up the shop. He helped her make dinner and stayed until late in the night. They sat in front of the fire, his arm behind her along the back of the couch, absentmindedly playing with her hair. This was how their days ended for the next few months. He would leave by Floo late every night.

At dinner one night, "Mum asked for us to come to dinner tomorrow night. Someone has an announcement and wants the whole family there for it. I told her we'd be there." Charlie said.

Ava looked up at him sharply, "Us? Together?" she asked. At his nod, she stood from her chair and stalked out of the kitchen towards her bedroom. He caught her in the hallway and pushed her back up against the wall. Placing one hand on either side of her head, he looked her in the eye.

"What is it? What's wrong with us being together?" he asked.

"I don't know, Charlie. Maybe it's because neither one of us has admitted that we are together. We both are denying our feelings to ourselves and each other. I can hear your thoughts, Charlie. It's one of those super powers that I picked up that day. I know what you are thinking to yourself when we are together. I know what you are feeling, your true feelings. I can't tell you why I keep denying mine, because I feel the same way…." Her rant was broken off by his lips crushing down on hers. She whimpered and grabbed the front of his shirt with both hands, afraid that he would pull away. After long minutes, he did pull away. Bending, he picked her up and carried her the short distance to her room. Lying her gently on the bed, he kissed her again. That night, they danced in an ancient intimacy that only lovers knew of.

Waking the next morning, Ava felt his arms around her. Smiling, she looked over to find him watching her. "Morning, beautiful." He said.

"Good morning." She replied. Moving slightly, he kissed her. Pulling away, he got out of bed and went to the shower, not ashamed of his nakedness. Ava was left alone with her thoughts. She knew that this was a turning point for them. Before she knew it, he was back from the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist. Seeing her watching him, he smiled and crossed to her. Leaning down, he drew her in to a deep, lingering kiss. Pulling away, "I have to go. Be ready at 4 and I'll pick you up for the trip to the Burrow."

"About that," she said. "What if I meet you there? I have the Floo, I can make it on my own. You don't need to come for me."

"But I want to come for you. I want us to arrive together. We can use the Floo, we don't have to apparate." He assured her. She smiled and nodded.

"See you at 4, then." She said, kissing him again. She got out of bed and made her way to the shower. Allowing the hot water to run over her, she sighed and thought about Charlie and the night ahead. She wasn't sure that she was ready for dinner with his family. Her stomach knotted in nerves, she turned off the shower, and toweled herself dry. Going back in to the bedroom to dress, she noticed that he had gone. Frowning slightly, she got dressed and made her way downstairs, grabbing a bagel on the way out.

The day seemed to drag and fly at the same time. Ava would find herself watching the clock more than usual. Around 3:30, she asked Sarah to stay and close up the shop and went upstairs to change. Slowly, she dressed in a soft green dress with sandals. She was brushing her hair when Charlie appeared. He crossed to stand behind her, putting his arms around her waist, he lowered his head and kissed her exposed neck. She smiled and shivered. Turning, she faced him and he kissed her. "You look beautiful." He said to her.

"Thank you." She said, unsure.

"Ready?" he said, pulling away.

"As I'll ever be." She said and followed him to the fireplace. Charlie went first, with her promise to follow right behind him. She stepped into the fire after throwing the powder. As the green flames leapt high, she said, "The Burrow." Fireplace after fireplace passed in a blur in front of her. She closed her eyes, feeling a bit nauseous. Before she knew it, hands were reaching for her. Opening her eyes, she found Charlie pulling her from the fireplace. He chuckled at the look on her face, and planted a quick kiss on her lips. Hearing the clearing of a throat behind them, he turned to find his father standing in the doorway.

"You two planning on joining us any time soon." He said with a smile.

"Sure, dad. Right behind you." Charlie laughed. His arm still around Ava's waist, he led her to the backyard, where everyone had gathered. Making their way towards the tables set up in the yard, they were stopped by Molly. She gathered Charlie up in a hug, fussing about his hair. Turning to Ava, she hugged her as well.

"It's so good to see you again, Ava, dear. You look well." She said. Releasing her, she motioned them over to take a seat at the table. "Well, come on, let's eat before it gets cold."

Charlie led her over to two empty seats and held hers for her as she sat down. As the food was passed around, he introduced her to the rest of the family, all two dozen of them. The air rang with laughter and voices as everyone talked and shared stories. Charlie joked around with his brothers, not having seen them in several months. After the dessert had been devoured, "Molly, that was amazing. Thank you for inviting me." Ava said.

"Oh, dear, you're part of the family now." Molly said with a smile. Ava's eyebrows raised, almost disappearing under the hair on her forehead. Charlie laughed and kissed her cheek. Draping his arm around her shoulders, he turned his attention back to his family.

"So, why have we all been called here together? Who's pregnant this time?" he asked.

Everyone looked around at each other, each more confused than the other. Harry cleared his throat and stood up. Ginny blushed as Harry spoke. "We are."

Everyone erupted at once. They all stood to hug and congratulate Harry and Ginny on their 3rd child. The dishes disappeared from the tables and the tables were seen flying towards the garage. Chairs appeared and everyone sat to watch the kids playing. Ava sighed, content with this life. Charlie reached over and placed a hand on her knee. She looked over at him and saw a look in his eyes that she couldn't identify. He mouthed the words, 'I love you' to her, making her smile. She had never had anyone love her before. Her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. She realized then that she loved him. Lacing her fingers through his, she squeezed, letting him know that she understood. Twilight descended on them and lights were seen floating around them all.

Slowly, everyone made their way home, Charlie and Ava being the last to leave. Arriving back at her place, Charlie led her to the bedroom. Undressing her slowly, he showed her just how much he loved her. Lying there, holding her to him, listening to her slow, even breathing, he smiled. Never had he felt this way about anyone. "I want to marry you, Ava." He whispered.

She sat up sharply, "What did you say?" she asked.

"Oh, you heard that, did you?" he grinned sheepishly. "I meant it, you know. I do want to marry you."

"Oh, Charlie. I want to marry you, too. I've never loved anyone like this before. You make me feel loved, special." She told him.

"I don't have a ring. I wasn't prepared for this." He said with a grimace.

Shaking her head, she leaned forward, placing her forehead against his, "I don't need a ring to know that you love me." She said. He brought his hand up to the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss.

The next morning, after Charlie left for the dragon colony, Ava made her way down to the store. Smiling, she didn't notice Sarah staring at her. "Happy, are we?" Sarah said.

"Very," Ava said, sighing. "I'm getting married."

"Oh, that's wonderful, Ms. Kyker." Sarah said and gave her boss a hug.

"Thank you, but call me Ava." She answered.

Charlie appeared at the top of the stairs just then. Seeing him, she got a concerned look on her face. "Charlie, what's wrong?" she called out to him.

"Nothing's wrong, darling. I just had to come see you." He smiled. "I couldn't stand being away." Crossing to her, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. Pulling back to look in her eyes, he said, "I talked to mum, and asked her to call for another family dinner."

"Okay, I suppose I should get used to the whole family thing." She replied. Kissing her again, he pulled away and disappeared.


End file.
